


The Triumvirate Pilgrimage

by fandomdough



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Human Scott, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Polyamory, Threesome - F/M/M, Werewolf Allison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-16 07:24:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3479420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomdough/pseuds/fandomdough
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beacon Hills wasn't supposed to be any different from anywhere else, but it was where Allison Argent lost everything she once knew and ended up finding herself and her soulmates.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Triumvirate Pilgrimage

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shiny_glor_chan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiny_glor_chan/gifts).



Derek Hale caught it in the wind. The scent wrapped around him, familiar yet strange, a shock to his senses as old memories flooded in. He stilled, desperate to hold on to comfort and joy despite the terror and depression mixing in with the wisps of smoke that taunted him from behind walls of the past. The rational mind reasoned that he should stay away from his hallucinations. The irrational mind pushed him forward.

He trotted through the woods, careful enough to make use of whatever cover he could get in the daylight, especially as he got closer to the days of the past. He peered through dense foliage as raucous teenagers spilled out onto the Beacon Hills High School lacrosse field, excited chatter in the air informing him that it was that time of year again, the start of team tryouts. That was of little interest to him.

The scent was stronger, almost unbearably so, sharpened by the crisp winter air. His gaze darted between the people on the bleachers in an attempt to pinpoint the source, but it was what he heard that drew him in. Sweet laughter triggered a memory that he did not entirely welcome and for a moment, he saw her in the crowd. A sharp inhale and a blink later and she was gone again. Blonde had turned brown, but the facial likeness was uncanny. Paired with the familiarity of the scent still wrapped around him, it couldn't be a coincidence.

And yet, he took another inhale. This time, he caught the underlying reason behind the scent's strangeness. He had found another werewolf in his territory.

It didn't make sense, not if this brown-haired girl sitting on the bleachers held any relation to Kate Argent. He took in more drags of her alluring scent and came away with more alarming questions and a sense of pity for her. She was newly bitten, signalling the increasing presence of the mysterious werewolf who had wrenched alpha power from his sister. If the girl was an Argent and she knew it, she would be dead within the day.

And if she wasn't dead, he would end up doing something very, very stupid.

  


Allison Argent collapsed into bed, ignoring the remaining few boxes she had yet to unpack. Her first few days at school had been trying. No matter how many times she went through the experience of being the new kid yet again, she couldn't get used to it. It didn't get easier over time because the older she got, the older everyone else got, and with age came judgment. Her first impression could screw her over in so many ways, accidentally or not: what she wore, what she said, or whom she hung out with. Not that it really mattered in the end. No matter how many times they moved, there were never any assurances that they would stay for long, and her long-distance friendships had always petered out.

Here in Beacon Hills High School, she had almost become the weird kid when she nearly fainted during introductions in first class. It had been a horrifying experiencing, although admittedly not as horrifying as being attacked by an animal the night before. The wound had healed frightfully fast.

Then popular girl Lydia Martin had taken her from new kid to cool kid merely by association, when she offered to accompany her to the nurse's office that day, no questions asked. Well, no, Lydia asked about her fashion sense in the most superficial of introductory segues and then invited her to sit at her lunch table. Allison took it all in with caution, but it was a good start.

"—the Hales are still around—"

"—only Derek—not that callous—"

"—the alpha—changed him—"

Allison groaned as quietly as she could. The insulation of this new house was terrible. Her parents were lucky that she wasn't a completely rebellious eavesdropping teenager, but even so, she still heard way too much.

"—should've told Allison—for her own good—"

She scowled, having heard enough. Everything they did was supposedly for her own good, even when leaving behind friends the first few times she had moved had left her in tears. She hunted around her school bag for music to drown out her parents. She had enough on her plate. She didn't need to deal with her parents' unwarranted opinions about her life.

  


Derek had tailed the new werewolf—Allison, classmates had called her—only to be dismayed upon recognizing Chris Argent within her vicinity. He had vaguely known the Argents were back in town due to the rogue werewolf attacks but for Allison to be an Argent and a new werewolf? It didn't bode well for either him or her. He knew how this situation would look to the Argents.

However, Allison did not appear concerned about her fate. She also lived past her first day of school. For whatever reason, Chris and his wife had not bothered to tell their daughter about the family business or the dangers of the supernatural world. It was a point in his favour. He needed to get to her fast before they brought her into the fold, before they poisoned her against herself. He needed her to find the alpha.

That is how he found himself wading through a slog of partying teens on a Friday night, booze and sweat making his nose wrinkle. If tonight could have been avoided, he would have done so, but timing was crucial. He was already low in confidence, so he needed the bolster of the full moon. Convincing Allison would also be much easier if she found herself going through the change, but if it happened among humans? He would have to whisk her away before she could harm anyone.

Despite the party stench, he tracked Allison's scent with ease, batting down the memory hatch for the countless time. She wasn't Kate. And like Kate, she wasn't his.

Then his wolf called to hers. He cursed himself under his breath when fear lanced into her scent as her wolf struggled to come out, driving him faster forward. He caught up to her as she stumbled to a washroom and he shouldered his way inside.

  


Allison didn't know what was happening to her. It was like the first day of school when everything had suddenly become so overwhelming, except this time it was magnified by a thousand. She peered up at herself in the mirror, shocked by the amount of light reflecting off her eyes, and even more shocked by the claws her hands had apparently turned into as she reached up to touch her face.

A loud clunk echoed through her ears, causing her to wince but she had the sense to back away from the door. She peered at the intruder through distorting eyesight.

"Stay away," she growled through heavy breaths, trying to control her panic. Were her teeth becoming pointy? She brandished a hairbrush that had found its way into her hands.

The intruder held up his hands in a imitation of surrender. "I'm here to help you."

"Oh, you're not fooling me. You drugged me, didn't you?"

"Allison—"

"Who are you? You know what, I don't care. Get out."

"Allison—"

She opened her mouth to scream but blacked out.

Derek cursed himself again as the wolf took over Allison completely, the hairbrush clattering to the floor. He growled back in acquiesce to give himself time to think as she gave him several warning barks, her clawed hands fully extended between them. He had no hold over other werewolves as a beta, but maybe he could use what got him into this mess to get out of it.

So ignoring the fact that it felt right, he let his wolf call out to her again. She paused her barking to sniff at him.

He reached out his own hand, clawed in a reaction to her change. "Come."

She shuffled forward cautiously and as soon as she was within reach he acted quickly to knock her out, catching her in his arms. He held her for a beat until both of them were more or less their human selves. Then he hoisted her upright and slung an arm over his shoulder before exiting the washroom, hyper-aware of how this looked. Thankfully, partying teenagers were not the most observant beings.

But a certain partying teenager narrowed her eyes as she watched him leave with Allison's body in tow.

  


Allison woke up leaning against a tree in the woods. She stayed still as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings, remembering the washroom incident at the party and now she was here, possibly drugged. Despite feeling better, that thought forced her to start retching in an attempt to purge. She took note of how she wasn't tied up. But the frightening presence of her captor was nearby.

She scrambled to escape.

"Allison!"

She ignored him.

"Allison, stop!"

Her feet pounded the ground, crunching what remained of the dead leaves. She didn't know what direction she was heading but she didn't care. She just wanted to get away from him.

Then she found herself caught to a tree as pain exploded in her arm.

He caught up too quickly, a hand over her mouth before she could scream, but the scream died in her throat under the intensity of his glowing blue eyes. She didn't realize that her eyes were glowing yellow too.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Allison. I'm trying to help. I know what you're going through."

She sunk her teeth into his palm, unknowingly made easier by sharpened incisors. The glow of his eyes brightened as he gritted his teeth but his hand didn't move.

"I know I didn't go about this the right way, and I'm sorry, but I just—it's been a long time since I've interacted with humans. And since I've met another werewolf."

Did she hear him correctly? Werewolf? She attempted to knee him but he batted her leg away in annoyance as the sounds of voices began to reach them.

"We don't have time for this. Hunters are after us. I'm taking my hand off but don't call for help. They don't help werewolves."

"Werewolves?" she cried out in indignation as her first word. "Werewolves aren't real!"

"Tell that to the arrow in your arm."

Pain swamped her senses as he yanked her arm from the tree, snapped the arrow and pulled out the pieces, but at least she managed to keep her anguish barely audible.

"Come on, you'll heal." He took off.

Allison didn't want to follow this stranger that had plunged her into this ridiculous mess between him and these hunters. But since the hunters shot her and he was running away from them, he was the safer choice. At least, she hoped so. She took one last glance towards the hunters before running after him.

They lost their pursuers as they drew closer to a part of the woods that she was startled to recognize as the place where an animal attacked her. She threw a sharp glance at her captor-rescuer-werewolf as she stopped jogging after him, barely winded. A glance at her healed arm seemed to confirm at least one truth, hard as it may have been to swallow, but it also belied another.

"You bit me."

He stopped and turned to her in disbelief, the glow low in his eyes. "Excuse me?"

"You bit me. You practically admitted it!"

"I did not bite you!"

"You're the only werewolf here."

He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I am, but it wasn't me. There's another werewolf."

"I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Yes," he replied. "Because I'm a beta and not an alpha."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means only alphas can turn humans into werewolves."

"So you're saying there's another werewolf out there?"

"Yes," he growled at her.

Something primal in her wanted to growl back, but she turned from him and started to walk away. "I'll stick to not believing you."

"Believe me if you want, but you're a werewolf now. It's better if we're in this together."

"I'll be fine," she said, even though she was anything but fine. A werewolf? How exactly was she supposed to deal with that?

"Good night, Allison."

Allison tried to convince herself on her way home that it had all been a really bad hallucination. The blood-soaked hole in the sleeves of her clothes told a different story. It wasn't one she could explain to her parents so she was grateful to find neither of them home.

She shivered as she went to bed that night, an ominous feeling hanging in the air. She might have become a werewolf but she swore her father had been among the hunters chasing after her that night.

  


Allison wasn't sure why it happened, but she found herself in Lydia's room on Saturday afternoon. She didn't think they were particularly friends, let alone close friends, but Lydia had practically dragged her over from her house.

"Okay, spill," Lydia said as soon as she came back with refreshments, settling into her chair to face Allison. "What were you doing with Derek Hale last night?"

It was a perfectly normal question between girls, except Lydia was not asking in a boy-crazy kind of way. It sounded more like she was concerned that this Derek character was a known criminal luring girls away in the dark of the night, which did nothing to reassure Allison. It also did not help that she somehow recognized this name.

"Who's Derek?"

"The guy you left with last night! You didn't get his name?"

"No, it's not like that—"

"Do you know who Derek is? Or anything about the Hale family?"

"No, look, I just saw him yesterday—"

"Did he do anything to you?"

"No, Lydia, nothing happened!"

Lydia sighed in exasperation. "I'm not stupid. Something happened. You don't want to tell me, you swore an oath or whatever, fine. How about this: Derek Hale is a werewolf and he tried to eat you last night."

Allison found herself gaping wordlessly at her, who only took it as a prompt to keep going.

"Unfortunately, he picked the wrong victim, as you turned the tables against him and slew the beast."

"That's not what happened." Although she wished it had turned out that way or any other way. Then she wouldn't be here, getting grilled by Lydia, who name-dropped supernatural beings like it was anything but abnormal. "But wait, how do you know about werewolves?"

"Ah, yes," Lydia smiled, pointing at herself. "Banshee, through my lovely father."

"A screaming, wailing creature of death?"

She grimaced. "A crude way to put it and not really accurate, but yes."

"Do you normally go around telling people?"

"No, but you're a hunter."

An involuntary shiver passed through Allison. "No, I'm not."

Lydia narrowed her eyes. "Hunter-in-training?"

"No," Allison said with confusion. She had definitely missed something, because she didn't go around shooting arrows at werewolves.

"But you're an Argent."

"Yeah, so?" The lingering feeling from last night intensified and she shifted on the bed, unsettled.

"You're an Argent, you know, in Beacon Hills."

"It doesn't make me a hunter—not a supernatural one anyway." She wished she could have said it with the utmost confidence but she couldn't, not with the image of her father in the woods hanging over her.

"Ah, well, I may have overstepped then," Lydia said, waving it away but clearly not convinced.

But Allison wasn't willing to let it slide away now. "No, tell me. Do you think my parents are hunters?"

Lydia hesitated. "The family name 'Argent' has typically been associated with hunters of supernatural beings."

"No," Allison whispered, letting her head drop into her hands. Tears sprang to her eyes as she tried to control her emotions. She felt the wolf inside howling in sadness with her and she longed to run away from this terrible situation.

"Allison, it's not that bad if it's true."

She shook her head. "I'm screwed because I'm a werewolf."

"What?" Lydia exclaimed too loudly, then lowered her voice. "What do you mean, you're a werewolf?"

Allison looked up at her, knowing she was a pitiful mess. "I got bitten."

"By Derek?"

"No, I don't know," Allison said, sloppily wiping her tears. "It happened before my first day at school. He says he couldn't bite me because he's a beta or something."

Lydia tutted as she handed over a box of tissues. "It's plausible. He also might be lying."

"Does he have reason to lie?" Allison blew her nose.

"There's definitely motive, if he was looking for companionship. A fire at the Hale house killed almost everyone in his family about six years ago."

"Oh. That's—that's terrible."

"Yes, well, don't let yourself pity him yet. I don't trust Derek."

Allison nodded, still sniffling. She didn't trust him either, but now it felt like she could trust no one. No one except Lydia, who joined her on the bed despite the mess she was making with her tears. She clung to Lydia as they hugged, clinging to a veil of safety that could be torn away from her at any moment.

  


Allison sat through dinner with her parents as they chatted about the mundane, hoping they didn't notice how tense she was. She itched to ask about hunters and the supernatural but she didn't trust herself enough to keep her emotions in check. She did not want to accidentally reveal that she had become a werewolf.

But when her werewolf hearing picked up her parents' voices later that night, she paid full attention.

"—sure there were two of them?" her mother asked.

"Yes. Derek and a smaller beta." Allison muffled a gasp at her father's answer. "I didn't get a good look at it."

"But you shot it?"

"I retrieved blood samples." She suppressed a half-sob of panic. No, no, no! "I sent them to Antoine to run it for matches, but I'm not optimistic."

"Do you really think it's one of the high school students?"

"More than likely."

"We need to tell Allison." She let out the breath she had been unknowingly holding. They didn't suspect her yet.

"No, I have hunters watching the school. She's protected."

"She's ignorant! Ignorance will get her killed," her mother hissed.

"She's protected," her father insisted, despite the tremour she picked up in his voice. "We promised to give her a normal life."

After a beat, Allison winced at the harsh scraping of a chair and her mother's hard tone. "Just get the job done. I don't want Gerard taking matters into his own hands."

She trembled in the false security of her room. There was no mistaking what her family was, nor the thin line that she walked on as a wolf among hunters.

  


Allison told Lydia about what she overheard, taking care in her words as they made their way to the lacrosse field after school. She had already spotted two of her father's henchmen on the outskirts of school property. Lydia ended up shushing her with another invitation to her place after the practice.

While Allison tried watching the practice to the best of her ability, not knowing the exact mechanics of the game, there was a sensation that kept pulling her attention away from the field and Lydia's constant commentary about Jackson's performance. She kept trying to pinpoint it but she could only describe it as a sense of warmth. It bled out the tension she unconsciously held to keep herself from transforming and she found herself relaxing in body and mind. She still acknowledged the worry and anxiety about her current situation but everything was going to be all right. It was when she took a deep breath to further calm herself down that she realized it was something she was smelling, but where was it coming from?

She tried to look inconspicuous as she took in more inhales in attempts to locate the source, ignoring Lydia's questioning look. It wasn't in her immediate vicinity. Maybe someone further along the bleachers? Or maybe the lacrosse players. No, the source felt stationary, so it couldn't be anyone on the field except maybe the goalie. Danny, was it? She squinted at him, vaguely remembering being introduced at Lydia's lunch table. No, he didn't feel right.

The sensation persisted throughout to the end of practice. She shot up as soon as the bulk of lacrosse observers began to leave and immediately made her way through to the opposite side of the bleachers, only to turn back around when the scent and warmth subsided.

"What is going on?" Lydia asked when she caught up.

"I'm trying to figure it out. Let me just—" Allison turned sharply towards the changerooms as the scent wafted past her again and she zeroed in on the back of a player. She ran in an attempt to catch him before he entered the changerooms, only to underestimate how much more forcefully she could run as a werewolf. They ended up falling into a clumsy pile of lacrosse equipment and bodies.

She inhaled deeply, her eyes closed in bliss. Yes, this was perfect.

"Um, hi."

Her eyes fluttered open to see a bemused expression, and suddenly she was the shy girl lying on top of her crush. She scrambled off and helped him up. "Hi."

"You're the new girl, right? Allison?" He started picking up the fallen equipment.

"Um, yes. That's me."

He laughed, the sound as warm as his scent. "I'm Scott. I sit in front of you in first period."

"And you play lacrosse. Which I was watching."

"In my dreams," he said wistfully. "I'm pretty much always benched."

"You'll play one day."

"Yeah, one day. Anyway, gotta go. Can't be late for work."

Scott jogged off to convene with another player as Lydia took her leisurely time to catch up, a knowing glint in her eye. "What just happened?"

"Nothing. Something. I don't know."

"My place, now."

On the way there, Allison attempted to explain what she had experienced. The feeling of complete belonging and comfort and trust and all the happy things that she could have in her life was somehow bundled up in Scott's scent and voice and whole being. It was something she wanted so badly with all of her bad luck so far.

The first thing Lydia asked once they were in the safety of her room was, "Are you familiar with the concept of soulmates?"

Allison was taken aback, familiar with the context in which Lydia appeared to refer to. "Yes, I think one of my great-grandmothers went on a soulmate pilgrimage." The epic journey had be told like a fairy-tale and had fueled a lot of her notions of love as a child.

"That's more than the rest of humanity knows. Soulmates are essentially predestined lovers. A soulmate pilgrimage was one of the most important pilgrimages that people undertook during their lifetime. The supernatural still subscribe to this tradition, for the most part. Humans did too, until most chose choice over destiny."

"Does your family follow it?"

"My grandmother did. My father doesn't believe in it, but he's divorced. I'm skeptical. I haven't had the epiphany yet."

"But you think Scott is my soulmate?"

Lydia made an indeterminate sound. "Or you're just ridiculously compatible."

"He's human though."

"Do you really think something that insignificant will get in the way of being soulmates? Tales as old as time have lovers overcoming unsurmountable odds to be with each other."

"So we're destined to be together?"

"You're overthinking it, Allison. Go and enjoy yourself. He's cute, in a loser human kind of way."

"Lydia!"

She put her hands up in defense. "All I'm saying is he's not Jackson."

"As if that would stop you."

"Hey, I only date winners. Scott is not a winner."

"He's a winner at something."

Turned out that Scott was a winner. At least, he was slowly winning Allison over to the idea that yes, he was her soulmate. She was undeniably drawn to him and his optimism in the face of all odds.

Now if only she wasn't prone to physical arousal around him. The excitement revved up her wolf, forcing her to barricade herself in the nearest empty closed space to calm down. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but it really sucked when all she wanted to do was to flirt and cuddle. Despite Lydia's help, it was getting out of hand. She begrudging had to admit that there was only one werewolf she could turn to for help.

  


Derek observed from the shadows within the edges of the clearing, taking in Allison's scent as she wrinkled her nose at the poor state of his house. He had followed her from school as she threw off her father's men from tailing her before heading here. He wondered idly how she managed to get directions, but then again, it wasn't a secret.

"Derek?" She knocked on the door, careful to avoid getting splinters. "Derek?"

He came out of the shadows with a werewolf-audible sigh. She frowned as she turned to face him, sniffing in his direction as he kept his distance. "Have you been stalking me?"

Derek shrugged, making an effort to appear nonchalant and mysterious, even though he had no real reason to do so. "Making sure you don't lose control."

"Why not teach me how to control it?"

"You didn't want my help. Besides, isn't the banshee helping you?"

"Yes, Lydia," she stressed, "is helping me. But she only knows so much about werewolves and werewolf soulmates."

He stepped closer before he could stop himself, daring to believe. "Soulmates?" If she was bringing it up now, maybe—

"Yeah, I think I've found my soulmate." The way her eyes shone reminded Derek of the way his parents gazed at each other and they echoed the feelings he shoved away. They were also unmistakably not intended for him. 

His gaze shuttered as he stilled. "It's possible."

"Oh." Allison's hand flew to her mouth as a realization dawned on her. "I'm sorry."

"No, it was in the past." he said, struggling to maintain his composure while he berated himself and his betraying body. "I mistook infatuation for the soulmate bond. I'm sure it's not the case with you."

"But it's possible? Humans and werewolves?" The sound of hope in her voice dug deep into his soul and he considered lying.

"Yes. Members of my family were human."

They fell into silence. He wondered if Allison knew about his family. Then again, his tragic house stood behind her.

"The hunters," Allison's voice cut through his memories. "Did you know?"

"I knew." Derek met her eyes, pleading for a trust that he knew would not be offered as she simmered with anger.

"You didn't bother to tell me? My own father shot me!"

"You wouldn't have believed me then," he explained, steadfast. "You didn't trust me."

"You're right. I still don't." She stuck out a hand. "I want his arrow."

"Why?"

"It's a reminder."

He gauged her for a moment before he closed the distance. It was too close and then all he knew was Allison and her presence, the strength of her overpowering the dark memories from his past, empowering the sliver of hope he still held for a happier future with her. Then the moment passed as he reached the door.

"Do you live here?" she asked as she followed him inside, still in awe at the state of the house.

"Your arrow."

The pieces clattered to the floor as she missed the catch. Flakes of dried blood fluttered off the surface to drift towards the worn wooden floors. Her blood. Her breathing sped up and the stench of fear joined the tang of blood in clogging the air. Derek could only stand back, longing to help as she battled her own internal demons.

She snatched up the pieces and stuffed them in her bag. Then a howl ripped through the air, too close for comfort.

  


"I know that sound," Allison muttered in surprise, eyeing Derek's stiff posture in trepidation. "Why do I know that sound?"

"It's the alpha. The one who bit you."

"What does it want?" she asked, even if her body knew the answer. She trembled as she fought the pull. "Derek—"

"Don't fight it. Go. I'll follow."

The transformation rippled over her and she took off into the winter night that had already settled in. She was only half-aware of where she went, being led more by instinctual sound and smell than by sight. The alpha's howls filled her ears and she could barely smell Derek underneath the overwhelming scent of the alpha.

Allison slowed down at the edge of dirt and asphalt road, human habit kicking in as she glanced both ways, only to duck back into the cover of the woods. The screeching of tires and the smell of burning rubber mixed in with something familiar did not bode well. The town was already on edge in light of the recent animal attacks. If they found her like this—

Shots rang out. One or two may have whizzed past her. The alpha howled in rage but she didn't dare to look back as she ran without direction.

She kept running even when she felt thoroughly lost. She grunted as a familiar body tackled her but she shoved Derek off and stumbled upright. She glared at him with eyes aglow, breathing heavily through her nose. His crouched position coupled with the distracted, troubled look on his face caused the adrenaline running through her to spike even higher. There was something else going on and he wasn't telling her.

He dodged her lunge but she twisted her momentum to tackle him. They tussled on dead foliage until finally, she had wrestled Derek to the ground.

"You're keeping something else from me," she attempted to growl, but adrenaline had long since left her body, leaving her drained and sore.

He pushed her off effortlessly, already melting out of werewolf form. "You don't need to know." 

She followed suit with significantly less grace. "Derek—"

"Kate Argent is in Beacon Hills."

"Don't change the topic," she warned, but her aunt's name startled her. "How do you know?"

He jerked a thumb towards the road. "That was her."

Allison stumbled in a combination of exhaustion and shock. Of course Kate was part of the family business. But there was also the underlying fact that, "You've met her before."

Derek remained silent as he navigated the woods. 

They reached the clearing that opened up to his disintegrating house, where she tried again to get him to talk to her. "Derek—"

"We were in a relationship."

  


Thunk.

Allison notched another arrow and sighted it higher, concentrating on how differently her muscles strained with werewolf strength. It had been embarrassing enough when she had snapped one of her old bows around her father, but thankfully she got away with blaming its weathered age. This bow, on the other hand, was top of the line and very, very new.

Thunk.

"I thought you wanted to talk. Are you just going to shoot arrows all day?" Lydia asked, mildly disgruntled at being Allison's pack mule for the afternoon but observing her skill and control with complete focus.

"Too angry to talk."

Thunk.

"That's a start. Who are you shooting?"

"My aunt. My parents. Derek. Myself, in another life." How many times had she woken up in a sweat after having faced down the other end of the arrow?

"I understand everyone except your aunt. Unless she happens to be—?"

"She tried to shoot me last night." Thunk. "And then I found out she slept with Derek."

"Wait, willingly? Did she know—"

"Apparently she did. Derek didn't. He thought she was his soulmate until she laughed in his face. He said she—she claimed she set the fire. I can't believe it." Except here she was, shaking in suppressed anger as she imagined her aunt in her sights. "I don't want to believe it."

Thunk.

"I heard her last night with my parents. She wanted them to tell me now. I should've be happy because I'm so sick of everyone I know lying to me. But then the terrible things she said about werewolves and what she would do to them!" Hearing such harshness from someone she loved, someone she looked up to, had torn her apart. "I'm not a monster, Lydia. Neither is Derek. We've done nothing wrong."

"I know."

"Then why can't they see that? It gets harder to sleep every night I listen to them. What if they find out? Will they kill me in my sleep?" Allison doubted she really slept anymore, between the nightmares and fighting the call of the alpha. "I feel so helpless and I'm a werewolf! This isn't how anything was supposed to turn out."

"I know, Allison, I know."

Thunk.

  


Allison tensed as her father knocked on her bedroom door, but at least it wasn't her mother.

"Allison, I need to talk to you." Her heart plummeted at hearing those words in that tone and her chest felt tight when he held up a clear vial. "I had this blood tested against yours. Is there something you want to tell me?"

She responding with surprising calm despite how she felt inside. "You already know the answer to that."

"Allison," he warned, but the warning tone only served to rile her emotions to the surface.

"Fine, you want to hear it?" she snapped with more force than she intended. "Despite living a normal life like you wanted, I got bitten and now I'm a werewolf. Happy?"

Chris let his head drop into his hands. "No, this shouldn't have happened." His pose resonated with her, calming her down enough to sympathize with him.

"Don't tell mom," Allison mumbled.

He shook his head. "You weren't behind the animal attacks, right?"

She sputtered. "How—how could you ask that? They started before we moved here. I swear I haven't hurt anyone and neither has Derek," she added.

Chris' expression tightened. "You shouldn't trust him."

"Really? And why shouldn't I? He's told me more than you have about the family business."

"I had my reasons—"

"Yes, you did. You wanted to keep your precious little girl safe. Well, guess what? You couldn't."

He fell silent in pained contemplation. Allison watched as the father she knew and loved shattered before her eyes, making her wish that somehow this was all still a very bad dream, but it wasn't. Then he spoke, eyes averted and voice low as his words wavered, "You know I have a duty to—"

"To what?" she cut in, her own voice trembling. "To murder your daughter in cold blood for being a werewolf, when you were supposed to stop it from happening in the first place? Or am I still your daughter? Do I get burned from the family for becoming a monster?"

Chris was anguished at her deliberate words. "No, Allison, that's not what I meant."

"You did, dad." She fished out the arrow pieces from her bag and dropped them in front of her father. He flinched.

"I didn't know then—"

"Does it matter? Do you really go around shooting werewolves just because they're werewolves?"

"The animal attacks—"

She picked up the bloodied arrowhead and brandished it in front of her face, making her father flinch again. "And if you'd killed me?"

Chris' jaw clenched.

"Out. Get out of my room," she demanded as the wolf stirred.

"Allison—"

"Get out now."

The silence that followed in his absence was deafening. It screamed at her to face her own thoughts but she couldn't stand being alone with them, not like this. She dropped the arrowhead and climbed out the window.

Allison ran. Maybe she was a coward for running from her father as a daughter, but maybe she wasn't a coward for running from a hunter as a werewolf. The problem was, she was both a daughter and a werewolf and she wasn't sure what roles she or anyone else was really playing anymore.

And where could she go now? Lydia was a phenomenal friend, perhaps her first best friend ever, but she didn't deserve all the emotional dumping of her terrible life. Derek was the next logical choice but she was still reeling over him and Kate and couldn't guarantee that she would be in control.

That left Scott. Her soulmate. The turmoil running through her already lessened at the thought and quelled the wolf within, enabling her to run with purpose.

"Allison—"

Allison flung herself into the comfort of Scott, pulling back sheepishly at his muffled 'hey' when he stumbled under her excessive use of strength. Then she kissed him and all was right with the world. He opened up, kissing her back as he fumbled to close the front door.

"This is nice and all," Scott managed to gasp out as Allison, intoxicated on his scent, nuzzled his neck and lightly teased at his skin with her still-human teeth. "But shouldn't we talk about this first?"

She stilled, not wanting to ruin the moment but at the same time she was desperate to tell him, to not be as foolish as her parents. Look where that had gotten her? Now she was a werewolf with werewolf-hunting parents, with a werewolf mentor who had a past with her gun-wielding werewolf-hunting aunt.

Allison let out a half-sob at the ridiculous line of thought and found herself cocooned in Scott's warm embrace.

"We don't have to talk. Maybe watch a movie?" he suggested, sending shivers through her body with his mouth so dangerously close to her ear.

She shook her head, her nose still crooked into his neck. It was the perfect position to take her whole fill of his calming scent. It thrilled her when Scott followed her lead and took in deep breaths of his own with his nose nestled in her hair. Each breath expanded his chest and pumped through his lungs in an off-tandem to his heart, his heartbeat a gentle lull. "We need to talk," she mumbled, her voice half-smothered by her position. 

"Okay. Come on." He pulled her out of his embrace and led her to the living room. Like the rest of his house, it felt well-lived in, a place where she could imagine happy memories with him.

They sat facing each other, hands entwined. Allison distracted herself by concentrating on the feel of his whorls as she ran her fingers across his. Scott had already given her so much. She might believe that he was her soulmate, but he deserved to know everything and then to decide for himself.

She drew her shoulders back to straighten her pose, gaining confidence from his warm gaze. "Scott, what I want to tell you is—" Her voice broke as she glanced away to hide her forming tears. "You might not believe me. You might not want me."

He gripped her hand more forcefully, that mere contact stabilizing her. "I love you, Allison. No matter what."

She relished those words. It was what she needed to hear, now and after. She took a deep breath as she met his eyes.

"I'm a werewolf."

She was met with a quizzical look. "You mean—?"

"I turn into a monster on the full moon," Allison explained, choking on the word 'monster'.

"No, Allison, I'm sure it's not like that," Scott said in alarm as he reached up to wipe the tears that she suddenly couldn't stop.

She instinctively leaned into the touch, then shook her head. "It's true though."

The moment of silence stretched into an agonizing wait until Scott asked, "Will you show me?"

"What?"

"Show me what you turn into."

"I don't want to." But the weakness in her voice belied her words.

Scott shifted closer. "Trust me, Allison. I won't run away."

"I do, Scott. I—I don't trust myself." She untangled herself from him, pulling back as she wiped at her tears. "I don't want to hurt you—"

"You won't. I trust you."

Allison held his words and his trust close to her heart and nodded. Then she closed her eyes and called upon her wolf. It came with all of her pent-up anger and frustration at the world. The emotions roared within and she struggled to contain them, forcing harsh breaths through her nose until she felt Scott touch her hands. They were unknowingly clenched, her claws tearing into her palms, small pinpricks of pain that grounded her in reality.

She opened her eyes to warn him off only to see him staring at her, the awe evident and the caution even more so, but his hands stayed on hers. His heartbeat thudded faster, but he didn't move away.

Her anger subsided to a simmer as she unclenched her claws only to feel hands sliding into hers. "Don't," she murmured, her transformed throat deepening and distorting her voice, an aspect that she was now hyper-aware of during this first moment of quiet calmness. Her actions betrayed her as she gripped his hands, taking care with her strength and claws, grasping onto the only true person in her life. She willed the wolf back and the transformation slid away with surprising ease.

Exhausted but rejuvenated, she settled into Scott's willing arms to nestle her nose into the crook of his neck, still marvelling at how right the position felt. "Thank you."

He kissed her forehead.

"I love you, Allison Argent, werewolf and all."

  


Derek had been nearby, close enough to hone into Allison's distress.

He followed her as she went to Scott, her proclaimed soulmate.

He listened as she wept and tore herself open to reveal herself, as Scott took her in and accepted everything that she was. It was more than he could offer, considering the single biggest mistake of his past.

But he thought this time would be different. Kate had been a mistake, a false soulmate, a decoy, but how could he have made the same mistake twice?

Maybe he was broken.

  


As happy as the new relationship was and despite Allison's insistence that they were soulmates, Scott felt a small nagging feeling lingering on the edges of their happiness. Sure, he loved being with Allison. Who wouldn't? She made him laugh and empowered him to go beyond what he knew. His pulse skipped beats when he thought of her and her radiant smile. He would do anything to keep her that happy forever, which was why that small nagging feeling in the corner of his mind worried him. There was something missing, except he didn't know what it was.

Except whenever he tried to bring it up, Allison brushed it off. He understood, he really did. In the midst of what he assumed was werewolf training with the mysterious other werewolf, keeping herself in control, and flying under her family's radar while trying to convince her father that she was more important than his duty, the last thing she needed was more chaos. What she needed was his normality, his stability. Being a source of anything else was an option she wasn't willing to consider.

But the nagging feeling remained and his worry grew.

When Scott tried to get advice from his best friend Stiles, Stiles accidentally caught a whiff of the supernatural. The worst boyfriend of a werewolf ever, Scott apologized profusely to Allison as Stiles scrutinized their every move. It put them and their covert dates on edge until reluctantly, she permitted him to tell Stiles.

Stiles, being Stiles, pounced on the information, leeching as much as he could about werewolves and hunters and soulmates, before he declared Scott to be of no further use in these matters. He began hunting down his own resources. Namely, Lydia. At least he had the courtesy of telling Scott, who told Allison to forewarn Lydia, so Lydia was better prepared, if not wholly joyous, when Stiles arrived on her front step asking all the questions in the world. He was ecstatic when she brought out a whole selection of books for him to lug home, clearly expecting him to be occupied for decades.

Then through proxy of Stiles, Scott learned everything he had never wanted to learn about the supernatural. He was pretty sure a lot of the ridiculous 'facts' and 'theories' Stiles told him were completely made up. And none of them really helped with his growing feeling of unease.

  


In addition to the small nagging feeling, Scott couldn't shake the illusion that they were being followed around, everywhere. No matter how suddenly he tried to turn around, nothing and no one caught his attention. Of course, he caught Allison's attention, as she gave him questioning looks. He shrugged it off but remained restless. 

So when Stiles came to him with the possibility of finding the other werewolf, he didn't hesitate to follow him out into the woods. The trek was tiring and pushed him to his feeble human limits, when they came across a disintegrating house. He scrambled for his inhaler as his agitation peaked.

"I'm going in," Stiles announced, eyeing the house with bright eyes.

Scott tried to pull him back but his energetic friend had already crossed the clearing and was knocking on the door. Correction, he was letting himself in.

"Stiles," Scott did his best to hiss around his inhaler as he hurried to follow.

The inside of the house was not much better than the outside. In fact, it may have been worse.

"Stiles, I don't think anybody lives here," Scott said, coughing as he remained by the door, doing his best to shield himself from the exorbitant amounts of dust that greeted him. 

"Maybe not," came Stiles' voice from behind the dust clouds. "But certainly a recent, possibly regular visitor. There's significantly less dust on the floors."

"Drunk parties?" he offered up uselessly as he wanted to leave. He couldn't see anything beyond dust and darkness anyway.

"Nah. Everyone avoids this house. Says it's haunted."

"Then what are we doing here?" Scott did not like the sound of Stiles getting farther away.

"What are you doing here?"

Scott jumped at the growling voice behind him. And then it all clicked into place as he registering a glowering expression.

"Um, h—hi," he stammered. His shoulders shook as he attempted to further suppress his coughs.

"You're trespassing."

"And now we're leaving," Stiles chirped as he emerged from behind the dust clouds, pushing Scott past the surly man and down the rickety front steps. "Bye!" 

A familiar creeping feeling crawled up Scott's body as they dashed back to the edge of the woods.

"Who was that?" he asked Stiles as soon as they had taken refuge back at his place and he had mostly recovered. He kept hacking in attempts to clear out his lungs, which felt like a layer of dust had permanently settled inside of them.

"That was Derek Hale."

"He's the werewolf."

His tone of certainty got Stiles' attention. "You mean—?"

"Yeah. He's the one. He's the missing piece."

"Hang on, hang on right there. I came across something before." Stiles scrambled to the small stash of Lydia's books he had left in Scott's room for precisely this purpose. Scott joined in, eager to find out what his gut feeling was and exactly how Derek fit in. But he knew without a doubt that he was right.

  


"Your room is a mess," Allison observed. It was definitely messier than usual, but Scott insisted she had to come over.

"Sorry," Scott said as he shoved books off his bed. "Research and stuff."

"These are the books Stiles borrowed from Lydia," she said after picking up one of the old tomes, frowning as she read more of the titles. "Scott, I told you not to worry—"

"The other werewolf is Derek Hale, isn't he?"

Allison looked at him sharply before sagging in defeat, settling on the bed. "How did you find out? I made sure you weren't following me."

"Stiles had suspicions. I confirmed them." The bed sunk even further when Scott joined her.

"Confirmed them? You went to see him?" She couldn't help the tone of disapproval in her voice. He shouldn't have been out there by himself. What if he ran into hunters or even worse, her father?

"Uh, yes."

"Scott—"

"He's what's missing!" Scott blurted out.

She sighed, not wanting to start this conversation again. "That doesn't make sense. We're soulmates."

"No, we're part of a soulmate threesome."

"What?"

"I uh, that's what we were researching," Scott said, looking sheepish.

"You were researching soulmate threesomes?"

"And foursomes," he added with a little too much enthusiasm before he dialed himself down. "But I'm pretty sure we're a threesome."

"Lydia didn't say anything about threesomes or foursomes," Allison said, miffed that this detail had been overlooked. She didn't know how to feel if it turned out to be true, especially considering the awkward situation between her and Derek. She also knew that Derek wasn't very fond of Scott. There was no way it would end well. That is, if it was true.

"Lydia probably thought we were supposed to be a pair. I think it was more common." Scott explained as he started hunting through the pile he had dumped onto the floor. "Aha! Found it!" He brandishing a crumpled piece of paper with triumph. "Stiles said the word for the threesome was 'triumvirate'."

"It doesn't mean anything. What I feel with you, when I'm around you, I don't feel that way with Derek."

"We were missing connections. Here." He smoothed out the paper, where a triangle had been drawn in black ink underneath the word 'triumvirate'. A set of blue arrows followed the sides of the triangle clockwise while a set of red arrows followed counter-clockwise. He pointed to each of the triangle's corners. "Derek. You. Me." Then he followed the arrows, one set at a time. "Derek likes you, you like me, I like Derek. Once that triangle is complete, Derek likes me, I like you, you like Derek!"

"It didn't happen like that."

He shrugged. "Yeah, it's soulmate theory. It doesn't account for regular human chemistry. Or the lack thereof? I got too excited to listen to what else Stiles had to say. But I'm sure it's in there somewhere." He pointed to the pile of books on the floor.

Allison didn't know how to respond. It sounded plausible and it seemed so easy, but the reality was complicated. "Are you sure about us and Derek?"

"Yes."

She examined the paper again. "I suppose you want us to talk with him."

"I do but uh, only if you want to."

She knew she couldn't deny Scott when he used that soft tone laced with uncertainty. Besides, her curiosity was peaked. "Let's go."

  


"Derek."

Derek was surprised when he had smelled her nearby, considering that it had been barely a couple of days ago when she'd demanded him to stop following her and Scott around. He hadn't heeded her because the alpha was still out there and her safety was paramount. However, he did lurk from farther distances. He wondered what she wanted now, weighing whether he should ignore her.

"Derek, I know you're in there and I know you can hear me. We need to talk."

"Derek," Scott's voice joined in, catching him unaware. "It's important."

Derek berated himself for his weakness towards Allison as he stalked to the front door. To have overlooked a clumsy human was a rookie werewolf's mistake. "What is he doing here?" But what he was more interested in was Allison's sharp intake of breath.

"Come outside. Scott's allergic to the dust."

Instead of heeding her, he leaned against the creaking doorframe. Allison was different today except he wasn't sure how to explain it. She didn't feel as hard-edged or as bitter or as—his shoulder slipped as the realization hit him hard. She didn't feel like Kate Argent anymore.

Allison nudged Scott. "You're right. But he's not saying anything."

"He's not trying," Scott insisted.

"What are you talking about?" Derek asked, wondering offhand if it had anything to do with this newfound realization.

Scott glanced at Allison. She shrugged. "It was your idea."

"Um, have you heard of a soulmate triumvirate?"

Derek stilled, his nostrils flaring instinctively at the words. "What are you saying?" But he already knew the answer as he paid more attention to Scott's scent mingled with Allison's and entered a state of complete and utter belonging. Any of his past experiences, mistake or otherwise, paled in comparison to now. He found himself wiping tears he hadn't known he'd been crying. And when was the last time he had cried?

Scott grinned and extended a hand. "Hi, I'm Scott."

Derek gingerly brought his own hand forward. "Derek."

Their first contact was electrifying. Then it multiplied a thousand times when Allison joined in. It overwhelmed Derek so much that he had to pull back but he couldn't stop inhaling his soulmates' scents. He never imagined that this day would ever come for him and now he had two! Two soulmates to care for and love. Granted, it wasn't going to be easy. There was still so much to work out, especially with his complicated past with Allison's family. But as he really studied Scott for the first time, he saw past clumsy human to the optimism and perseverance within.

Whatever bumps they encountered down the road, they would do it together.

"So," Allison said, interjecting into Derek's thoughts. "Where do we go from here?"

"First thing's first, there's no way I'm setting foot in that house," Scott declared.

Derek couldn't help but laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the mishmash of prompts I was provided, which was practically everything I wanted to write. Now, as to whether or not it all came together successfully is another story... literally! I hope to one day play in this universe again.


End file.
